Ricoh Theta SC (910740)

Continuation of the success story

A couple of years ago, the guys at Ricoh contributed to the boom in panoramic cameras with the release of Theta S. Their new Theta SC camera pushes the same line of multifunctional devices with a relatively small price tag, but with a number of changes.

Practical design

Externally, Theta SC looks more like a voice recorder than a 360 camera. The only thing that gives it away is the lens at the top. This shape is perfect for a spherical camera, as it allows you to comfortably hold the camera in your hand and shoot from almost any angle without a tripod.

Manual mode as in a conventional camera

The Theta SC has a 12 megapixel sensor that can shoot FullHD video at 30 frames per second or a photo with a resolution of 5376x2688 pixels. The resolution is not the highest, I would like 4K, but the image quality is very good. But there is support for "Manual Mode", which allows Theta SC to snap portrait and landscape shots like a normal camera. The quality of the pictures is obtained at the level of a good smartphone, but the ease of use is many times higher.

THETA+ Proprietary App

But what raises questions is the lack of digital or optical stabilization. It's not always obvious, but some of the panoramic cutscenes look like a "realistic" fight from a Jason Bourne movie. However, this can be easily fixed in the proprietary application THETA +, where, in addition to editing, you can add effects and captions to the video, just like in a regular photo and video editor.

Ergonomics for 5+

But the ergonomics are at a very high level — photos and videos are taken literally in one click, camera control is intuitive and you get used to it in a matter of minutes. Theta SC is equipped with microphones for sound recording, a Wi-Fi module, and a tripod mount. The camera has only built-in 8 GB of memory, there is no slot for a memory card, which is not very convenient.

The built-in battery allows you to take about 260 panoramic photos or 65 minutes of continuous recording, but with a limit of 25 minutes per video.